A rattlesnake is faintly shown beside the logo on the cover of Metallica's The Black Album.
The cover uses an almost entirely black field, with the Metallica logo and a coiled snake rendered so subtly that the image can be missed at first glance. The restrained artwork supports the album's informal nickname and gives the package a stark, minimalist appearance.
The snake relates directly to “Don't Tread on Me,” one of the album's songs. That title and imagery reference the Gadsden flag, an American historical symbol featuring a rattlesnake and the warning “Don't Tread on Me.” The cover therefore connects the visual design to a specific lyrical and historical idea.
Listeners sometimes remember the cover as simply black and overlook the animal entirely. The snake is not a separate mascot or a photograph of a band member; it is a subtle graphic element integrated into the album artwork. The same imagery also appears in the album's packaging.